Overview
- Commissioners cited three transparency breaches: misleading paid verification (€45m), restricted researcher data access (€40m) and opaque ad disclosures (€35m).
- It is the first penalty issued under the DSA, which allows fines up to 6% of global turnover and the option of daily penalties until compliance.
- Elon Musk denounced the decision on X, posting that the European Union should be abolished, while US officials including JD Vance and Marco Rubio criticized the move.
- X can challenge the sanction in court, and separate EU investigations into the platform’s content moderation and manipulation risks remain open.
- In a parallel action, the Commission closed a case against TikTok over ad transparency after binding commitments, underscoring its remedy‑first approach when platforms cooperate.